Dissemination%20and%20communication%20policies%20in%20modern%20on%20statistics%20offices

1
Dissemination and communication policies in
modern on statistics offices
Yalta, September 2009 Pieter Everaers, Eurostat
2
Main characteristics of communication and
dissemination policy

• What
• When
• How
• By whom
• To whom

3
What

• Statistical information via web
• Statistical Information via paper
• Telephone support
• Specific information on demand
• Paper
• Flagship publications
• Pocketbooks
• Statistics in Focus (SIF)
• Data in Focus (DIF)A flash, one page on one
  indicator
• Special publications

4
What ctd.

• Predefined indicators, agreed within the
  Statistical System (PEEIs)
• Ad hoc news releases
• A flash, one page on one indicator
• Only headline indicators
• Main outcomes in a bit more detail
• Data/tables and brief analysis
• Metadata available
• Links to other more detailed information (website)

5
How

• Very visible and well prepared, each time an
  event!!
• Agreed internal protocol for authorization
• Tested method (stable IT tools etc)
• Alert system
• Business continuity
• Impact analysis and risk assessment

6
How (ctd)

• On paper,
• Direct mail to selected group (journalist,
  intermediates
• Internet announcement
• News flash
• Press release
• Meeting in press room
• Daily/ statistics in focus
• Help desk / user support available and aware !!
• More detailed info on request (free of charge, to
  be paid)

7
When

• Fixed data, fixed time, fixed location
• According to release calender
• Pre release to specific agencies
• After clearance by hierarchie
• In combination with more detailed info available

8
By whom

• Central statistical authority or in special cases
  decentralized
• Spokes person (supported by experts)
• Fixed data, fixed time, fixed location
• According to release calender
• pre release to specific agencies
• After clearance hierarchy
• In combination with more detailed info available

9
To whom

• Pre release (only to certain authorities)
• Transparent agreement
• All users at the same time (via internet)
• With or without subscription
• Internet with pre announcement via mail
• Internet based on regular release calender
• Announcement / alerts of delays
• Journalists via mail (fixed group)
• Journalists via press conference (by spokes
  person)

10
Contacts with the press
11
The Eurostat Press Office main services

• Issues News Releases
• Provides media support
• Produces release calendar

12
News Releases

• Around 185 News Releases per year (EN, DE, FR)
• 140 Euro-indicator News Releases
• 45 ad-hoc News Releases

13
Dissemination of News Releases

• All Releases sent at 1100 by email to more than
  1000 journalists
• All Releases available at 1100 in the Commission
  Press Room
• All Releases available at 1100 on the Eurostat
  web site
• 100 000 downloads per month

14
Release calendar

• Includes all the Euroindicators
• Provisional calendar for current year
• Dates confirmed Friday before publication week
• Disseminated by e-mail to subscribers
• Available on the Eurostat web site

15
Eurostat Media Support

• Questions about data and methodology
• Data extractions for journalists
• Regularly updated tables of Euroindicators
• Requests are usually dealt with same day
• Answering around 1 700 requests per year
• eurostat-mediasupport_at_ec.europa.euTel 352
  4301 33 408
• For economic and political comments contact
  Spokespersons Service in Brussels

16
Dissemination
17
Issues

• Free dissemination policy and its results
• Change of tools
• Publications
• Internet
• Metadata
• User support
• Challenges for the future

18
Free dissemination

• Recognition that statistics are a public good
• Free dissemination started 1 October 2004
• All statistical domains
• Impartial access for all users
• Single exception is microdata access for research
  

19
Eurostat - New web site
Link to EU presidency
20
New web site - Statistics
21
New web site - Publications
22
New web site About Eurostat
23
New web site - Help
24
How does free dissemination work

• Principle Users have to find and interpret data
  themselves
• Support to help users to help themselves
• (in cooperation with NSIs)?
• Involvement of commercial re-distributors
• Internet is central tool for dissemination
• Enlarged community of users creates new
  requirements
• Presentation of statistics
• Metadata for all statistics
• Publications change role
• Presentation of data ? introduction and
  explanation of statistics

25
Enlarged user basis (per month)?

• Visits of Internet from 200.000 to 1.6 Million
• Consultation of tables from 50.000 to 500.000
• Download of PDF files from 200.000 to 400.000
• Extractions from databases increased 4 times
• Types of users have changed with new types
• Enterprises gt 50
• Academic users (students, teachers)
• Private persons

26
Role of Re-distributors

• Re-use and redistribution is fully allowed
  without charge
• Commercial
• Non-commercial
• Very low entry conditions. Now only disclaimer
• Indication of origin of data
• Exclusion of liabilities
• About 100 companies currently re-distribute
• Much stronger recognition of Community statistics
  in public discussions, i.e. press, but no hard
  facts are known.

27
Publications
Statistical books Pocket books Statistics in
Focus Data in Focus Methodological and
working papers Press Releases
28
The changing role of publications

• Fewer publications
• (table oriented publications disappear)
• Focus on explanations
• Introduction to statistical subjects
• Increasing importance of 'compendium' and 'cross
  cutting' publications
• Efforts to increase 'data analysis' publications
  (Statistics in Focus - SIF)?
• Data in Focus - DIF
• Links to Internet based statistics

29
Publication 2002 and 2008
30
Statistics Explained (wiki style)?
31
New Internet design (spring 2009)?
32
Navigation tree
33
Visualisation tools I

• Data Explorer for easy to use data base
  extractions
• Tables-graphs-Maps (TGM)?

34
Visualisation tools II

• Business Cycle Clock (BCC) for economic cycle
  analysis
• Country and regional profiles for comparisons

35
The changing role of metadata

• Need to cover all statistics offered by a
  statistical institute
• Community and national statistics
• Common presentation formats
• (SDDS) (Special Data Dissemination Standard)?
• SDMX (Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange)?
• ESMS (Euro SDMX Metadata)
• Addresses different types of users
• Expert users
• Casual users
• Issue of Languages

36
User support network Support centers
37
European Statistical Data Support

• First level support via Eurostat website (FAQs
  etc)
• Second level support via National Statistics
  Institutes (NSIs)
• Third level support via Eurostat User support
  help on standard and complex requests which
  requires special competence

Around 26 500 user requests per year!
38

• Eurostat Media Support

• Publications and tailor made extractions
• Requests are dealt with very rapidly
• More than 1700 requests treated in 2007
• eurostat-mediasupport_at_ec.europa.eu Tel 352
  4301 33 408

39
Challenges for the future

• Cooperation in the European Statistical System
  (ESS)?
• Understanding the new ways of finding Information
• Advances in Internet (blogs, search tools,
  cooperation tools, etc)?
• Increasing the competence level of users

40
Metadata accessibility

• All published data are linked to metadata files
  in ESMS format
• Euro-indicators/PEEIs tables contain short
  descriptions i.e. synthetic information on main
  data characteristics
• PEEIs quality profiles soon available

41
Metadata short description
Data, including national ones
42
Metadata files, ESMS format
Last press release
43

• Thanks for the attention